Praying for the Council

             I gave the opening Invocation for the Birmingham City Council meeting this past Tuesday week.  I appreciated the invitation and was glad to be there to represent our Lord and Central Park Baptist Church.  But the invitation presented me with a dilemma, “What do you pray for at the city council meeting.”

            Considering the state of local politics, many things suggested themselves to me.  But my opinion is that one should not pray a political prayer at a political meeting.  After all, God knows what would be best for the city.  But men, including myself, can certainly disagree on God’s opinion or leadership.   So I did not pray concerning any issues facing the city or council.  Neither did I thank God for my "smoking hot wife," nor end with "In Jesus Name, bogady, bogady, bogady," as did the fellow who prayed for an auto race.

            What I prayed was for the council to be guided by God’s wisdom, whether they want to be so guided or not.  I also prayed that God will bless the city and its people through their efforts.  And I prayed for God’s mercy and grace on the council members and their families.  God certainly knows they need it.

            And looking at the scene in the city, the county, the state and the nation, we all need to pray mightily for our leaders.  God has the answers to all our problems.  We must pray that our leaders discern His will, not their own or that of their political party.

Grace and peace.

Bishops and bishops

            As the result of an election on July16, my next door neighbor is now the Episcopal Bishop for the state of Alabama.  Now a state Bishop in the Episcopal Church is a person with extensive power and influence.  He will receive respect and adulation from the state’s Episcopalians.  He will travel extensively as one of the governing Bishops in the United States.

            He will also walk a difficult path with all the changes going on in society and within every denomination.  Turmoil in the Episcopal Church has been openly reported in the media.

            Now the truth is, I’m a bishop too.  Note the word is spelled with a small “b.”  The translation of the Greek word bishop in the New Testament is “overseer,” and is used in conjunction with presbyter, meaning “elder,” and poimen, a word that means “shepherd” but is equivalent to the English word “pastor.”  All three of these terms are used in the New Testament to describe the leader of a local congregation.  So I am a bishop, presbyter and poimen.

            A few weeks ago my neighbor got his long handled pruning saw trapped in a large branch he was cutting.  It was fairly high and he had no way to free it.  So, like any good neighbor, I carried my extension ladder and chain saw next door, climbed up in his tree and cut the limb, freeing his saw.

            That was one bishop going to the aid of another bishop.  Now doesn’t that sound holy?  But of course it was a very mundane situation.  It was just one man going to the aid of another man.  But it also illustrates that even Bishops are just ordinary men with ordinary problems. 

Grace and peace.

The First Amendment

       The folloing is the post which was not posted at the first of the Month.  I still don't know how I goofed.

            We again celebrated our nation’s birthday on July Fourth.  We celebrate independence from Great Britain and the establishment of the United States as an independent country.  I also celebrate the establishment of a country where there is separation of church and state.

             On my van is a bumper sticker which reads, “Separation of Church and State. Good for Both.” A middle aged man, who identified himself as the son of a Baptist preacher, was loading some chairs into the van.  He commented that “Separation of Church and State” is not in the constitution but are words penned by Thomas Jefferson.  He was familiar with the issue, he assured me.  The claim that the words are not in the constitution is one of the facts marshaled against such separation by those who would end the neutrality of our government in religions affairs.  Generally they are advocates for Bible reading or study in public schools (Which Bible or which religion?), monuments or other religious symbols on government property, or government money to pay tuition to religious schools.

            Those who use this argument seem to ignore the context in which President Jefferson wrote.  In a letter of assurance to the Danbury Baptist Association in Connecticut in 1802, he coined the phrase in explaining the impact of the First Amendment to the Constitution.  The amendment, of course, states the government shall make no law concerning the establishment of a religion or prohibiting the free exercise of religion.  Jefferson said, “Thus building a wall of separation between church and state.”  The amendment itself, in Jefferson’s opinion, built the wall.  He was only explaining it.

            Jefferson believed religion to be a private matter between an individual and his God, and government should not get involved.  Where government has been involved with religion the results were bad for both.  We only need to study European history, or look at contemporary nations where governments seek to impose religious practice on their people.

            As we celebrate the freedom of our country, also celebrate with me freedom of religion in our country.

Grace and peace.

Planning Ahead

       In my lack of computer knowledge I sometimes think I have posted something and then do not see in on this blog.  Such is the case with some thoughts on July 4th and our celebration of freedom.  If I find it somewhere in my files, I will post it later.

       In Proverbs we are told; "There are many plans in a man's heart." (Proverbs 19:21)  That is so true.  Our heads are full of so many different plans.  And planning is wise.  Planning ahead is necessary, but some things don't work out the way you think they will.  Twelve years ago, when we moved back to Birmingham, Liz and I purchased a large house with a large lawn.  I enjoyed keepting the lawn, trees and shrubs.  I also enjoyed handyman projects.  I enjoyed repairing things which needed repair.  I single handedly remodeled all three bathrooms.  We imagined living out our lives in a home we really love.  But things changed.  We got older.  The stairs have become a challenge for us both.  And the home repairs and landscape are now more than I want to keep up with.  We need to downsize to one level.  So we find ourselves trying  to sell our loved house in the worst housing markets in decades.  As it turned out we did not plan far enough ahead.
       When my father-in-law died in 1989, he was buried in a plot in Elmwood cemetery which had been in the family for decades.  Liz and I decided we needed to plan ahead for our own resting places.  A couple of decades ago we purchased a companion mausoleum crypt at Elmwood (i.e. a place for the two of us).  But this time our plans changed and we no longer need the mausoleum crypt, so we have offered it for sale at a bargain price.  But it seems there is not much traffic in the resale of cemetery plots or mausoleum crypts.        
       The Proverb says; “There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel – that will stand.”  Only the Lord knows the future and we need to know that our plans may not stand, only God’s.

        The old saying is true; the only sure things in this world are death and taxes.  The only sure thing in preplanning is to plan our location in the next life.  Jesus said; "I go to prepare a place for you."  You can have an eternal place in heaven if you welcome Jesus into your heart now.

Grace and peace.

Fathers Day

             Fathers Day is kind of an afterthought to Mothers Day.  During the first part of the last century sputtering efforts were made at having a day for Fathers.  It wasn’t until 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed the third
Sunday of June as Fathers Day.  In 1972 President Nixon signed into law the observance.

            Fathers don’t receive the same outpouring of praise or love that mothers receive.  But this is to be expected.  Looking back, it was mom that took care of the children.  She was there to cook their meals, wash and iron their clothes, kiss their “boo boos,” read to them, teach them, get them to school on time, help with homework, ferry them to a multitude of activities, and to counsel them in times of hurt, fears and stress.  Most of the time mom is the “rock” of their existence.

            To be fair, dads now are doing many of these things, in contrast to many dads in the past.  In previous generations fathers were there to provide the material things necessary and to exercise discipline when things got out of hand.  In those generations father’s left the “mothering” to their wives.  Even though dads are doing more of those things, it is still mom who does the primary nurturing.

            The tragedy of our generation is the multitude of single mothers raising children without the support of a husband.  I don’t have the statistics, but I am aware of the epidemic.  This is not to say they cannot do the job well.  They deserve a double dose of praise and thanksgiving.

            But if you have (or had) a father who stands beside you, provides for you, and is part of your growing years, be thankful unto God and express gratitude and honor to him on this Father’s Day.  And if your father has gone on to the next life, give thanks to God for him.  And, men, let the lord lead you to become a father figure to some child who does not have a father in his life, for whatever reason.

Grace and peace.

The Good Ole Summertime

     Theoretically, summer will not be here for another week. In reality, Summer is already here. We are in a drought and the daily temperatures have been in the upper 90s. Earlier we had the furnace on one week and the air conditioning the next week.
     I thank the Lord for air conditioning in our home and in our vehicles. We retreat to one or the other as often as we can. But I also marvel that we lived without it in former years. When I was a child, no one’s homes was air-conditioned, so kids spent as much time as possible outside. Some of my favorite memories are of the whole family sitting in lawn chairs in the back yard in the evenings and into he night At our house we had a whole house window fan which helped us sleep at night. But some nights that was not enough, so we sweated through the night.
     In those years the only place in town which had air conditioning was the movie theater. A big selling point for the movies was that air conditioning. And I can remember the shock and the relief of walking off he hot sidewalk into the dark air conditioned comfort.
     Not even our church, which was relatively large, had air conditioning. What we had were hand held "funeral home" fans. I remember many a Sunday sitting on a pew and fanning for all I was worth. Sweat would stick our Sunday dress shirts to the back of the wooden pew.
     Except for church on Sunday, we kids went barefoot all summer. I remember hopping along our way on sun heated pavement, especially asphalt. Often this was to the neighborhood city operated swimming pool, when we had the admission price to go. It was only four blocks from our house, but those could be a tortured four blocks, walking on grass when we could and pavement when we had to do so. When we went, we would spend three or four hours in the water.
We welcomed thunderstorms and played in the rain, ignoring the danger, if we were even aware of it.
     I’m sure it got as hot as it does now, but, looking back, we dealt with it better and enjoyed the good old summer time.

Grace and peace.

A Message From God?

     A couple of weeks ago we received in the office at Central Park Baptist Church (the church I am serving as pastor) a letter from a lady in Rome, Georgia. Her husband and sons were hunting turkeys, she says, when they spotted a white envelope which they brought home. The envelope was from a long past drive by the church, and "Early Debt Retirement Commitment." The tornadoes that swept through our neighborhoods picked up the envelope from someone’s home and bore it across the state line. This and many more stories illustrate the power of those storms. (I have an asphalt shingle from someone’s roof on top of my garage.)
     The lady reported that, being a strong believer in God, when she saw the envelope God touched her heart for Central Park Baptist Church. So she wrote a letter, enclosed the envelope and a check for twenty dollars for the debt retirement fund. This was all she could afford to send, she said. The church staff redirected her gift to the Tornado Relief Fund.
     She is just one of hundreds of thousands God has touched concerning the plight of the tornado victims all over the country. They may not see it as God’s initiative or God moving in their lives, but most of them do. And I certainly do. And I praise God for sending armies of volunteers to help the folks in our area as well as other areas. I trust He will continue to do so. It will that months to sort things out and years to rebuild. (Volunteers are still going to New Orleans to help the victims of hurricane Katrina.
     Tragedies will come, They are part of life in this world. But we are not alone. God sends His multitudes, or in some cases, his one or two, to stand beside us and to help us. Be open to Him sending you.

Grace and peace.